Basque club seeks new members

Belonging to Mendiko Euskaldun Club means you can greet members with a kiss on each cheek and no one thinks a thing of it.

It means that at least once a month you can enjoy food, fellowship, and family tradition with like-minded people.

And every year there is a big picnic for members from all over the state and a mus tournament - described as "twisted poker - where you can bluff and bet your way to the championship.

"Being in the Basque club is a solid tie to who you are, to your history. And it's nice to share a meal with your friends," said Anita Izoco who helped start the club in 1981.

"Everybody understands each other and enjoys the same things."

Recently the club, under the leadership of Izoco and President Teresa Fernandez, 29, has been advertising for new members.

The only requirement is that members be Basque - any percentage will do - and pay their dues which have been raised $5 in 25 years.

"We need some new blood and some new ideas," said Fernandez, who has been associated with the club since she was 3.

In 1980, her mother Jeanette Blanco began teaching traditional dancing to a group of children including Teresa and her brother.

Izoco learned right along with the youngsters.

"Jeanette taught lessons once a week," Izoco said. "At our peak we had 35 dancers."

The children performed at festivals and in parades, putting a charming face on the Basque heritage that was a cultural center in the Carson Valley.

But eventually the dancers grew up. With fewer children to replace them, the program was dropped.

The club, however, continues to meet once a month with special events throughout the year.

"We're looking for some new blood," Fernandez said. "Many of us have been with the club all along and we need some fresh ideas."

She estimated the membership at 250-300 families, which includes local members and out-of-towners from Reno, Carson City, Utah, Oregon and the Bay area.

According to the club's research, there are fewer than 60,000 Basques in the United States and only 10 percent of those are club members.

The membership motto is "hurbil zaitez" which means "come closer."

She said while Basques are known for their outspokenness, the club is more about fellowship than politics.

"We don't get into that," Fernandez said. "For a lot of us, this is where we see our friends."

Any rivalries between Spanish and French Basque descendants have disappeared over the years, Fernandez said.

"Especially with our generation," she said. "We were born here, we played together here and grew up here. A rift really didn't exist."

There have been few changes over the last quarter century.

"I think we raised the dues once," Izoco said.

Membership is still a bargain at $25 a year for families and $20 for individuals.

The members meet the third Saturday of the month at one of the Valley's Basque restaurants.

The only requirement is that members be Basque - any percentage will do.

Fernandez said she is concerned that the Basque members in her age group can't afford to live in Carson Valley.

She works for the Carson City School District and is planning to move to Reno after the holidays.

But she'll still be active in the club.

"For me, personally, there is a family tie. It's a big part of who I am and how I was raised," she said. "There's a continuity to a group of people who have all grown up with the same people. There's a comfort to it that there always is a familiar face."

DETAILS

For more information about joining Mendiko Euskaldun Club, contact Teresa Fernandez at 722-1445 or Anita Izoco at 265-5501.

ON THE WEB

North American Basque Organizations

www.NABasque.org